An election for the chairmanship of the

California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento. With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of r ...

was held on May 20, 2017 to succeed outgoing John Burton. 2 candidates,

Eric C. Bauman Eric Carl Bauman (born December 10, 1958) is an American political operative who was, until 2018, the chair of the California Democratic Party. Previously the vice chair of the state party (2009–2017) and chair of the Los Angeles Democratic Pa ...

and Kimberly Ellis, contested for the position. Bauman was elected as Chair of the Party.

Candidates

, vice chair of the state party (2009-2017) and Chair of the Los Angeles Democratic Party (2000-2017) * Kimberly Ellis, former member of California Democratic Party Finance Committee, former CDP African American Caucus Recording Secretary

Endorsements

Bauman received the endorsements of Equality California. Ellis was supported by progressive groups like the California Nurses Association, which supported

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

in the Democratic Presidential primary, and Our Revolution, which grew out of the Sanders campaign. She was narrowly defeated by Eric Bauman, who has been described as a "consummate party insider." News reports have described the contest as being between "old school" Democrats vs "new school" Democrats in the progressive spirit of Bernie Sanders. Although Ellis supported Clinton in the Democratic primaries and the 2016 general election, she has been embraced by Bernie supporters as "leading an insurgency against the party establishment." The most contentious issue, according to the Associated Press, was single-payer health care, which Ellis supported and which she claims that the California Democratic Party leadership opposed, despite the fact that the party has actually endorsed Senate Bill 562 and each of the Party's officers has publicly announced their support for SB562 and single-payer healthcare. She was endorsed by seven members of US Congress, several unions and organizations including the National Nurses United union, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, dozens of local elected and emeritus officials, and dozens of California Democratic Party leaders. Most of the graduates of Emerge California did not endorse Ellis, and actually endorsed Ellis' opponent. Ellis lost the election by 2.12%.

Result

On May 20, 2017, Bauman was elected Chair of the California Democratic Party at the annual state convention. He was the first openly gay and Jewish person to serve as Chair of the Party.

References

{{reflist 2017 California

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

California Democratic Party chairmanship election